T hey are insomniacs, early risers, or breakfast lovers. They
Peach’s restaurant, at 3201 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton.
In the darkness of 6 am, the restaurant is quiet and cozy. According
regulars on any given day. They’re usually all gone by 8:30 am at the
latest. By then, the restaurant is bustling and bright with morning
sun, three servers, plus a host, and at least half the seats full.
Not each regular comes every single day, sits in the same exact
seat, and arrives at precisely 6 am, waiting outside the door until
it’s unlocked. But more than a few do.
Peach’s regular, sat in the fourth seat from the counter’s end. One
“his seat.”
The two had met before, at G.T. Bray’s dog park. At the park,
Lindemann, a self-described “stay-at-home dog mom” whose
training to be a service dog, about his 6 am daily Peach’s ritual.
When Campellone arrived to see his new acquaintance in his seat,
he took the one to Lindemann’s right. Ever since, Campellone’s
old seat has been Lindemann’s.
“I came once, and then I just kept coming back,” Lindemann said,
noting that Campellone has become her best friend in the six years
Lindemann and her husband in 2014.
“It turned into our thing,” Lindemann said. “I get to hang out with
Ken for an hour.” On Thanksgiving and Christmas, the only two
days all year that Peach’s is closed, Campellone and Lindemann
Lindemann drinks decaf, and once in a while has toast, and
Campellone, who never eats breakfast, estimates he consumes
pressure, had a stroke at age 34. He remembers waking up at
Unit.
“They asked if there was anything I needed, and I said that what
didn’t get.”
Superlative Servers
Johnnie Neville’s seat is at the end of the counter, near the
restaurant’s entrance. For eight years, Neville’s had breakfast —
was a contractor), and when she goes to the gym at 5am every
morning, he heads to the restaurant.
“I like to come, to socialize,” Neville said. He said he comes, also,
because Peach’s is convenient — a few minutes’ drive from his
house and the only place open at 6 am. “And because of Katie,”
he said.
Neville was referring to Katie Talbot, a server beloved by her
regulars. Talbot, 32, has worked at Peach’s for 13 years (before
that, she worked at the Anna Maria Island Peach’s for four years).
early shift Tuesday’s, Thursday’s, Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Often,
she’s the only employee there until 7 am. Somehow, she seems
to know the names of everyone who walks in, at least during the
She calls herself a control freak and a perfectionist. Really, Talbot’s
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Julie Lindemann and Frank Campellone enjoy their daily catch-up.